Cycling is a popular sport and pastime, and cycling as a means of transportation has become popular due to environmental and financial factors. Riding to work in city environments, in traffic and on busy pathways can, however, be hazardous.
A cyclist can improve his or her safety by having knowledge of their surroundings and by predicting behaviour of others. This can include being aware of vehicles or other cyclists that are approaching them from behind. Similarly, when racing, knowledge of a competitor's position can form an integral part of a cycling strategy.
It is thus common for cyclists to periodically turn their heads to look behind them. However looking back in this way has several disadvantages. Firstly, a cyclist's vision is completely taken off the path on which they are travelling. This can, for example, increase the risk of frontal collisions. Secondly, it is difficult for a cyclist to maintain a straight riding position as the cyclist is typically unable to rotate his or her head 180 degrees without shoulder movement.
Attempts have been made to reduce the disadvantages of the prior art through the use of rear view mirrors.
There exists rear view mirrors of the prior art that are designed to be mounted directly to a bicycle handlebar. Such mirrors are attached to the handlebars by an extended arm, so that the mirror is raised to a suitable position.
A problem with handlebar mounted mirrors is that they are unsteady and are blurred by vibrations of the bicycle, for example on a rough surface such as a typical road. A further problem with handlebar mounted mirrors, is that they are bulky because of the extended arm, and accordingly are both prone to damage and prone to cause injury to the cyclist and/or others in the event of an accident.
Furthermore, there exist mirrors that are designed to be mounted to a cyclist's helmet. A problem with such helmet mounted mirrors is that they require the use of certain types of helmets and/or require modification to a helmet. Additionally, the helmet mounted mirrors can impair movement of a cyclist and cause further injury in case of an accident.
Accordingly, there is a need for an improved safety device.